Moreover, researchers have shown that adiponectin can induce autophagy in breast cancer cells by activating the AMPK-ULK1 axis mediated by serine/threonine kinase 11 (STK11)/liver kinase B1 (LKB1), which, in turn, promotes breast cancer cell apoptosis (Chung et al., 2017). This evidence concerns the gene STK11 and breast cancer.